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Medicinal herb industry takes root in Palestine

The cultivation of medicinal herbs in Palestine has been growing over the past decade in an industry that benefits from the experience of Palestinian former workers in Israeli settlements.
Palestinian farmers use scythes to pick thyme plants (Zatar) to be sold at West Bank and Arab countries markets, in the West Bank village of Falamyeh near Qalqilya September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini - RTS1KL4
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Cultivating medicinal herbs is one of the most promising and productive agricultural sectors in Palestine. Palestinian medicinal plants reached global markets after almost 10 years of work that started on May 3, 2007. In cooperation with al-Khaizaran Company for Agricultural Products, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had launched the greenhouse project for medicinal herbs in Ras al-Fara, northeast of Nablus, north of the West Bank, as part of the Palestinian Agriculture Rehabilitation Activity. With that, the cultivation of medicinal herbs for export began and continues to grow.

On Oct. 30, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah opened the Agripal Garden for Fresh Herbs where medicinal herbs like coriander, parsley and sweet basil are grown and exported. The garden is located in the northern al-Aghwar area, on the eastern side of the West Bank on the Jordanian border.

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